British Galleries:
This cushion was designed to hold open a prayer book or Bible on the altar. After the Reformation, when altars were converted into communion tables, the use of such rich ornaments was confined to traditionalists. [27/03/2003]<b>Object Type</b><br>Bibles and prayer books often had highly elaborate decorated bindings. This reflected the veneration in which their texts were held. Book cushions were padded supports used to cradle them in use and to protect the precious covers, which might incorporate protruding details in gold or silver.<br><br><b>Materials & Making</b><br>This book cushion is the smaller of a pair. Both are constructed with a central spine, from which the front and back of the cushion fold out. The spine forms a flat recess to support the spine of the book. The cushions are lined with a fine white silk, softly padded; the book would lie on this padded surface.<br><br><b>People</b><br>The cushion is decorated with the heraldic arms of Sandys of Ombersley, Worcestershire, and of Esthwaite and Graythwaite Hall, Lancashire. The arms are in lozenge form, which indicates that they were borne by a woman. They may be those of Elizabeth, the sister of William, 4th Baron Sandys of The Vyne. She was Baroness in her own right from 1629 until the baroncy passed to her grandson some time between 1644 and 1653. The book cushion may have been used at the Sandys family chapel at The Vyne or at the chapel of the Holy Ghost in Basingstoke, Hampshire, which had been established by the 1st Lord Sandys of The Vyne around 1624.Cushion made like a book with a spine and two, thickly padded covers.
The cushion is of pink silk embroidered with an all over pattern of scrolling, interlacing stems enclosing flowers in couched silver thread. In the centres of each cover, the arms of Sandys are enclosed by a laurel wreath embroidered with silver thread, silver gilt thread and with red and black thread. It is lined with white silk.Book cushion of embroidered silk, England, 1625-1650